In 2013, Utada Hikaru's father and manager, Utada Teruzane, stated on Twitter that Utada Hikaru's involvement with Kingdom Hearts III was undecided at the time. On December 22, 2016, a curious fan followed up on this message, receiving a reply from Teruzane that they'll do the opening song for Kingdom Hearts III and that they've already started. Later, Teruzane retracted that statement, correcting himself by saying that they're eager to do the opening song for Kingdom Hearts III, but their decision is not yet official.

Now, on December 6, 2017, Teruzane was asked once more on Twitter if Hikaru would do Kingdom Hearts III's opening song, and he replied saying that he can't say anything yet, but to be positive and that they won't break your heart. View the full tweet below:

It was also just recently revealed that Utada Hikaru will release a new album and is planning for a live tour across Japan in 2018. Also, all of her songs from "Automatic" to "Fantôme" will be releasing on Apple Music, Spotify, and other subscription services. You can read more about these new announcements in the article here.

It has been revealed on Utada Hikaru's official website today that she will create a new album and that it's planned to release in 2018. It will be her 7th album and her first album since joining Sony Music Entertainment. Also, in 2018, she will also be doing a live tour across Japan for the first time since Utada United 2006.

It was revealed as well that from December 8, 2017, all of Hikaru's songs from "Automatic" to her most recent album that was released in 2016, "Fantôme," will be releasing on various major music subscription service platforms, which includes Apple Music. They will also be available on Spotify starting from January 8, 2017.

You can view the full press release statement below:

From “Automatic” to album “Fantôme“: now available in subscription distribution service!(*Spotify to be starting from January 8, 2018) And a new album and a live tour in 2018!

From December 8th (Fri), Utada Hikaru’s songs from her 1998 debut single to her 6th album ‘Fantôme’ released in 2016, will be available in music subscription service in various major platforms including Apple Music. Right now, she is devoting herself to create her 7th album, which will be her first after joining Sony Music Entertainment, planned for release in 2018. Plus, she is planning for a live tour across Japan, which she hadn’t done since ‘UTADA UNITED’ 12 years ago in 2006. Please look forward to them as details will be updated in the official website!Utada Hikaru Official Website: www.utadahikaru.jp/

Earlier this year, Hikaru released a new single titled "Oozora de Dakishimete" on July 10, 2017, and a new single titled "Forevermore" on July 28, 2017. You can read more about those singles in the article here.

Hikaru is also releasing a new single titled "Anata," which will be the theme song of the movie DESTINY Kamakura Monogatari, which is releasing on December 9, 2017.

The Simple and Clean (Ray of Hope Mix) EP by Utada Hikaru is now available on both the iTunes music store and the Google Music Play Store! Announced last month, the EP features remixes of the original Kingdom Hearts theme song in both English and Japanese, "Simple and Clean" and "Hikari", respectively.

Utada Hikaru's manager and father, Utada Teruzane, has announced through his Twitter account, @u3music, that work on the Kingdom Hearts III intro song has begun! In 2013, Teruzane stated that Utada's involvement was undecided at the time. On December 22nd 2016, a curious fan followed up on this message, receiving a reply from Teruzane later that day.

Utada made her return to the Kingdom Hearts series earlier this year, collaborating with PUNPEE to create "Hikari/Simple and Clean -Ray of Hope MIX-", included in the opening for Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-.

UPDATE: Utada Teruzane has retracted the confirmation for Kingdom Hearts III, saying that they would like to be involved but aren't sure quite yet. You can find a screenshot of the tweet below. The original tweet confirming their involvement is still available on the U3 Twitter account.

Are you excited to have a new Kingdom Hearts intro song? Let us know in the comments!

Update 1: PUNPEE, the producer behind the Hikari and Simple and Clean -Ray of Hope MIX- versions, as well as the "P's CLUB MIX" remixes, will be present at Utada Hikaru's live-streamed event "Sanjudai wa Hodohodo" tomorrow. The event has been organized to celebrate Utada's return to music and to show her appreciation for her fans, and will include live studio performances. Fans will have the opportunity to ask questions in real-time and have them answered by Utada herself during the livestream.

The event is scheduled to run between 9-9-30 pm JST. For more information on the event and how to stream it, visit the event page.

The original article follows.

An EP featuring remixes of the Kingdom Hearts series Japanese and English theme songs by Utada Hikaru - "Hikari" and "Simple and Clean"- are up forpre-order on iTunes for release on January 11, 2017, for 750 yen. The track listing includes the -Ray of Hope MIX- versions of the songs, which have been featured in the recent trailers for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. These tracks are also the Japanese and English opening themes for Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. The album also includes a new remix for both "Hikari" and "Simple and Clean", called "P's CLUB MIX."

The remixes in this EP have been produced by PUNPEE, a sound engineer producing sounds for numerous artists including RHYMESTER.

Will you be purchasing this new EP? Do you think that the "P's CLUB MIX" versions of the theme songs will be the ending tracks to Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-? Let us know in the comments!

Update 1: On April, 3rd 2016, a new theme song for a Japanese TV show called Toto Nee-chan was uploaded to YouTube. This theme song, titled "Hanataba o Kimi ni", was performed by Utada Hikaru, thus officially putting Hikaru back on the music scene! You can view the video and hear the song below thanks to YouTube user halkichi sakamoto:

Update 2: Utada Hikaru has officially updated her YouTube channel with two songs, Manatsu no Toriame and Hanataba wo kimi ni. None of the songs are related to Kingdom Hearts. You can listen to both songs below:

Manatsu no Toriame

Hanataba wo kimi ni

Update 3: On July 8th 2016, Hikaru's website was updated with news of the release date for her new album set for September 28th of this year. This is her first original full album since her last Japanese-language album Heart Station released 8 years ago. The new album, title unannounced, will include previously-released tracks such as "Hanataba o Kimi ni","Manatsu no Toriame", and "Sakura Nagashi."

The original article follows.

Utada Hikaru, known for performing the opening songs "Simple and Clean" and "Sanctuary" for the Kingdom Hearts series, has officially announced her return to music. Hikaru has been on a 5-year hiatus that is now officially over. Via Hikaru's website, she is currently working on two projects: The first song she announced is the opening song titled "Hantaba wo Kibi ni" for the NHK drama Toto Nee-chan and the second is going to serve as the ending song for NTV's news program News Zero. This song's title will be released later on. Both of these songs are scheduled to be used by April 4th, so look forward to hearing Hikaru's new songs then.

In celebration of the musician's return, she has launched a new website that features an animated Cherry Blossom tree. As fans use a special hashtag on Twitter (#おかえりHIKKI or #WelcomebackHIKKI) or as fans buy her new songs, the animated tree will grow more and more flowers. This is a charity event called the "New-Turn" project. Money raised as part of this project will go toward planting cherry blossom trees in areas affected by the 2011 Tohaku earthquake and tsunami.

Of course, this does not confirm Hikaru's involvement in Kingdom Hearts III, but her official return to music is certainly a good sign. Now that Utada Hikaru has officially returned to music, what are your hopes for her involvement in Kingdom Hearts III? Would you like to see her return, or would you rather have someone else? Let us know in the comments below!

Utada Hikaru, known for her works in the Kingdom Hearts series such as Hikari and Passion has posted via her website that she is currently working on a new album. Along with the announcement of her new album in the works, she recently just had a new born child. While still having her son, she decided to return into the world of music and began creating her new album. Below you can read a translation by Aru Akise of what she said on her website about this great news below.

I have an announcememnt to all my fans.

Hmmm, recently,

I 've given birth to a baby!

He's a very calm boy, and is drinking milk and sleeping a lot.

I want to thank all the people who suppoerted me, visited me, and, once again, my parents.

During pregancy, I was working on a new album. It will take a little while before it is finished, but I am eager to resume work on it to deliver it to all of you as fast as possible.

Please wait a bit more, okay?

July 3rd, 2015.

Hikaru Utada.

With this news, we would like to congratulate her on the new born child and take a look back at the amazing work she has done in the Kingdom Hearts series. Congratulations!